Control mechanism for internal-combustion engines.



W. S. GUTHRIE.

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I3. I916.

' Patented 00t.17,1916.

WILLIAM S. GUTHRIE, OF TERRELL, TEXAS.

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 17, 1916.

Application filed April 13, 1916. Serial No. 90,868.

To all whomz't may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM S. GUTHRIE, acitizen of the United States, residing at Terrell, in the county of Kaufman and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Control Mechanism for Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a controlling mechanism for internal combustion engines, and the primary object of the invention is to provide economical mixtures when the engine is running under light load without affecting the power of the engine when running under heavy load. I

The object of my invention is accomplished by having anauxiliary air valve of any desirable form, conveniently positioned so that it will permit air to enter the engine suction pipe or intake manifold, at a point between the throttle and the intake valve of the engine, when the spark lever is in advanced position.

The auxiliary air valve is connected with the spark lever so that the said air valve is caused to open when the spark lever is moved to advanced position, and to close when the spark lever is retarded for heavy'pulling.

Internal combustion engines, as used in automobiles, are very wasteful of fuel when running at the average rate of speed, which is due to the fact, that a rich mixture must be obtained for heavy pulling conditions, and to get a carburetor that will supply both rich and lean mixtures automatically at just the right time has been a very difficult problem. My invention overcomes this wasteful use of the fuel without additional attention on the part of the operator of the engine, and this is an important feature of my invention. This feature is accomplished by having an auxiliary air valve communicate with the spark control lever, so that the time of the ignition spark may be varied somewhat without varying the normal fuel sup- 'Jly.

1 If the auxiliary air valve be controlled by an additional lever the controlling device would not be efficient, unless the operator always thought to open and close the same at the right time, and of course it would possibly be overlooked frequently where the load conditions vary considerable, as is the case with automobile engines.

It is obvious that the power of the engine would be reduced should the. auxiliary air Valve be open when the engine is running under heavy load. This condition is avoided by having the valve close itself by the retarding action of the spark control lever. Those skilled in the art, know the spark lever must be somewhat retarded when combustion engines are running under a heavy load; therefore, in operating hydrocarbon engines to get good results with my controlling mechanism attached requires no special attentlon, and efficlent mixtures may be produced at all times which results in less Waste of fuel, less carbon, and less overheating of the engine.

The carbureter should be adjusted to the engine in the usual manner, that is, with the spark control lever retarded, then the auxiliary valve will not interfere with the same.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the invention, and shows in section a suitable auxiliary air valve.

Referring to the drawings, the engine 1 has an intake manifold or suction pipe 2 with a carbureter 3 attached to its lower end. A throttle valve 4 controls the passage of fluids through the carbureter. An auxiliary air passage 5 in the suction pipe 2 between the throttle 4 and the engine 1, is controlled by the valve 6 which valve is closed by the coiled spring 7. A plurality of apertures 88 around the periphery of the valve body 9, provide for the entry of air to the passage 5 when the valve 6 is in opened position, as will be more fully described later. The timer 10, which operates by known means, is connected with the magneto 10 and provides the ignition for the engine. The spark control. lever 11 is pivoted at 12 to provide a swinging movement thereof. A connecting rod 13 is jointed to the timer lever arm at l4 and to the spark control lever at 15, so that the time of the spark may be changed by moving the spark control lever 11, which is substantiallythe same method commonly used with automobiles. One end of the connecting rod 16 is pivoted at 17 to the valve 6, and the other end of same is loosely formed around the rod 13 at 18.

A collar 19 is fastened to the rod 13 by a set screw 20 for the purpose of pushing against the loop end 18 of the rod 16 and cause the valve 6 to open. The time of the opening of the valve 6 will depend on the position of the collar 19. It will therefore be seen that the valve 6 may be arranged to open with any desired position of the lever 11, the advanced position of which is indicated by the letter A, and the retarded position is indicated by the letter R. If desired, the collar 19 may be set so that the valve 6 will not begin to open until the timer lever 14 has been moved to its fullest advanced position, which is against the stop 21.

One important feature of this invention resides in having the connection between the spark timer and the fuel supply arranged so that the operating means for varying the time of the ignition spark may be operative to some extent without materially changing the mixture of the combustible fluids. It is therefore important that the collar 19 be set so that the time of the ignition may be varied somewhat without actuating the valve (3. This provides for the use of the normal combustible mixture with either a full retarded spark, or with a somewhat advanced spark. Sometimes the normal mixture will be most etlicient with a fully retarded spark, while 'at other times the same mixture will be more, efiicient with an earlier spark, depending entirely upon the load of the englue.

The connection between the rod 13 and the timer lever 1% is of a yielding nature, the rod 13 passes through a hole in the lever 11, which hole is a loose tit on the rod 13. A collar 2'). fastened to the rod 13 supports one side of the lever 1+, and the coiled spring 23 slightly compressed between the other side of the said lever and the collar 2%, provides a connection that will yield to the lever 11 when moved to an advanced position farther than that of the timer 1%. This provides a suitable means for varying the amount of air entering through the pas s'age 5 with a fully advanced spark, and by this means the regular carburetor mixture may be had with a fully advanced spark, which may be desirable under some conditions. The means for connecting the auxiliary air valve with the spark lever may obviously be varied widely without departing from the scope of this invention. as maybe the form of air valve employed. It may be more convenient to place the auxiliary air valve some distance from the mani told. This can easily be done by connecting a suitable air valve directly or indirectly with the engine cylinder by a conduit or pipe, so that the said air valve may communicate with. the suction of the engine.

The engine partly shown in section is water-jacketed as shown at 25, within the cylinder 26 the piston 27 is employed, and the piston is operated by known means. Any other type of internal combustion engine may be controlled with my mechanism with satisfactory results.

The combustible fluids from the carbureter 3 flow up through the manifold :2, pass ing through the passage 28 and into the cylinder 26 through the inlet valve 25), where it is ignited by the spark created by the magneto 10 in the usual way. It will be understood that the carbureter 3, which may be of any suitable kind, has an air inlet thereto, and is supplied with gasolene or other fuel in the usual manner, andtherefore constitutes a suitable means for supplying combustible fluids to the engine. The air valve as used on some carbureters may have connection with the spark lever, so that the latter may impart movement to increase the opening of the same, for leaning the mixture, without the employment of an additional air valve. 7

The air valves on some carbureters are arranged so that they will communicate with the suction behind the throttle, and the opening of same in this position, will necessarily need to be greater than that of the air valves placed ahead of the throttle, as the suction is greatest on the engine side of the throttle. especially when the throttle is partly closed for average driving. The magneto 10 is driven by the motor shaft in the usual way, and constitutes a suitable means ifor supplying the ignition spark to the spark plug in the cylinder of the engine; it will be understood, however, that any suitable source of current may be used.

. Some automobiles are provided with a fixed spark magneto and therefore have no spark control lever. A suitable lever may be conveniently installed on the dash board or on the steering wheel of such cars. to actuate the air valve without having any connection with the spark timer. and the auxiliary air could be used when desired without changing the time of the ignition.

Some automobiles are provided with an automatic spark control, and some of these do not have a spark lever that is operated by hand. An auxiliary air valve may be used with the engine on such cars by being connected with the ignition timer, so that the governor controlling the latter may impartmovement to open the air valve with the ad vanced movement of the spark timer. It will thus be seen that the auxiliary valve may be operated by any suitable means that controls the time of the ignition spark of the engine.

The piston type of air valve as shown in the drawings is especially desirable where air is used for diluting the mixture of fuels, the small apertures 88, around the periphery of the valve body 9 act to prevent the admission of any foreign matter that might interfere with the working of the valve 6, and also prevents any large particles from entering into the cylinder of the engine. This particular air valve being of the piston type and having the air enter the body at the outlet end thereof, at a point ahead of the valve plunger is a special feature, because of its simplicity-and ease of operation. The air entering the body ahead of the plunger eliminates having to provide means for the air to pass by the plunger", which would not only make the valve more expensive'to manufacture, but the air in passing by the plunger would tend to resist the opening of the valve.

A suitable valve may be arranged to inject water or any other fluid into the cylinder of the engine by communicating with thesuction thereof, so as to dilute the combustible *"ffluids, and the fluid valve so used may be connected with the ignition timer, so as to operate in substantially the same manner as a ove described.

1 In the foregoing description I have par' ticularly set forth certain details of construction for the purpose of conveying a clear understanding of my invention, but it will be understood that while an auxiliary fluid valve as described constitutes a suitable means for varying the fuel supply, there 7 may be many other ways of varying the fuel supply, that, if properly connected with the spark timer,:would afford a richer'mixture with a somewhat retarded spark, than is supplied with a more advanced spark. It

is obvious that an oil valve properly designed in a carbureter could be suitably con- I nected with the spark timer, or with the spark control lever'so that more oil would be supplied with a retarded spark than is supplied with a more advanced spark without necessitating the use of an auxiliary fluid valve. It will therefore be understood that any suitable means may be employed to communicate with the fuelsupply and the spark timer jointly so that the connection between the said timer and the fuel supply will permit a variation inithe time of the ignition wlithont materially changing the fuel supp y. v

' What I claim as my invention and desire to secure-by Letters Patent of-the United States is: 1

1. internal combustion engine having means-for supplyin combustible fuelthereto, means for supp ying an ignition spark to the engine and for controlling its application in respect to the cycle of the engine, means for controlling thequality of the combustible fuel, and means for connecting the spark controlling means with the fuel quality controlling means, said connecting means bein g. arranged to permit a partial advancement of the spark controlling means before the fuel controlling means is made operative.

, 2.- An internal combustion engine having an air valve communicatingwith the suction thereof, a control lever having connection with the timer of the engine and with the said air valve, so that the movement of said control lever will impart movement to the,

said timer and to the-said air valve, so that the time of the spark and the richness of 'the combustible fluids is varied thereby, the operative connection between the control lever and the said air valve permitting the time of the ignition spark to be partially advanced without materially varying the fuel supply.

3. An internal combustion engine having an air valve communicating with the suction thereof, means for supplying suitable ignition .to the engine, means for supplying fuel thereto,- and means for varying the time of the ignition, said latter means having connection with the said air valve for actuating the same to vary the fuel supply, said connection permitting the time of the ignition spark to be partially advanced without,

materially varying the opening of, the said I air valve.

4. An internal combustion engine having means for the supply of fuel thereto, means an auxiliary air valve communica'tingwith the suction thereof, means for supplying combustible fuel to the engine, a timer for changing'th'e time of "the ignition of the;

nection with the timer so that the said lever may impart movement to open the said auxiliary valve after the timer has been-fully advanced, so that the mixture of combusti- -ble fuel may be varied with a fully advanced spark.

,6; An internal combustion engine having a piston type air valve communicating with the suction thereof, said air valve having a body with an outlet passage, a valve plunger communicating with the outlet passage to vary the opening thereof, means for admitengine, a control lever having yielding conting air to saidbody between the valve plunger and the said outlet passage, means for supplying fuel to the eng1ne,a timer for changing the time of the ignition of the engine, a control lever having connection With. the timer and With the said. air valve Whereby the air supply may be varied; by said lever, the operative connection between the said timer and the said air valve permitting the said control lever to vary the time ofthe ignition Without varying the opening of the air valve In testimony whereof I have signed this speclfication in the presence of two subscrlb- 10 ing WEIR-3556s.,

WILLIAM S. GUTHRIE.

Witnesses CONNALLY 'll. MGCLUNG, ROY EL Rev/Emu 

